Research

Research in Biology is carried out by the three research departments below. The research in Biology includes project from large to small, everything from animals and ecosystems to molecular processes.

Cell- and molecular biology

Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (ICM) is an international, multidisciplinary and distinguished biomolecular department. The department teaches a large number of undergraduate and Master courses for students specialising in Biology, Biotechnology and Biomolecular Engineering.

Research interests, ranging all the way from cell biology down to biophysics of single molecules, are divided into six specialty programs: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Molecular Biophysics, Molecular Evolution, Molecular Systems Biology, Structural & Molecular Biology. Several laboratories at ICM are also centers of excellence: Structural Biology, Molecular Biophysics, Protein Synthesis and Uppsala RNA Research Center.

Ecology and Genetics

Evolutionary ecology and genetics form the core of the research activities at the Department of Ecology and Genetics (IEG), and are studied in animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. This includes a number of high-profile projects on the processes of natural and sexual selection, local adaptation, speciation, and molecular evolution. We also harbour a strong research initiative on processes affecting microbial diversity and ecosystem function.

Various fundamental and applied aspects of conservation biology, including effects of global climatic change, are also part of our collective research. Approaches used range from field experiments to large-scale genome analyses, in the latter case mainly using next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches.

Organismal Biology

The research at the Department of Organismal Biology (IOB), has a developmental and evolutionary theme including early vertebrate evolution, plant development and innate immune reactions in invertebrates and the phylogeny of these processes. The deepest branches in the tree of life are search for using bioinformatics and experimental molecular techniques.

Genomic analyses are used to understand evolutionary processes in microorganisms and eukaryotes. Research about how chemicals of anthropogenic origin interact with cellular functions and give rise to long-lasting adverse health effects in humans and wildlife is also performed. The department harbours the SciLifeLab zebra fish platform, and a Drosophila facility.